NEW YORK CITY - Manhattan Unfurled - Matteo Pericoli

$18.95

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It is connected to what I do as an architect, the beauty of drawing a line. Every building has character; to draw it is like drawing a face, the things that give it soul. If you draw something, it is fixed in your mind forever, it is a miracle.

— Matteo Pericoli, author Manhattan Unfurled

Pericoli's drawing is at once monumental and gentle. In Percoli's fine lines every building seems benign, and together the buildings seem almost to be swaying softly in a chorus line along the Hudson.

— The New Yorker

Seen through his eyes, Manhattan takes on the quality of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, a place that seems in the complete grip of rationality until no one is looking, at which point all the buildings start kibitzing with one another.

— Vogue

In an object described as a book only because it folds up to fit inside hard covers, Mr. Pericoli has drawn a two-sided, architecturally precise representation of Manhattan's perimeter. His objectives are serious, but his draftsmanship has a charming playfulness as well. (Just look at the Hudson and East Rivers' jaunty waves.) Yes, the twin towers are forever preserved here, on the opening page.

— Los Angeles Times

Pericoli's lines have the delicacy of Mozart, but his masses have the suave rhythms of Ellington.

— from the introductory essay by Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize-winner for Distinguished Criticism

This is such a cool book — really more a work of art — with a such an incredible backstory:

Matteo Pericoli, who trained as an architect in Milan, came to New York City in 1995, just days before the biggest snowstorm of the decade. The sense of the city in its wake - especially the silence - remained in his mind. He experienced similar feeling taking photographs of Riverside Drive from the Circle Line ferry, and decided to transpose them into a line drawing.

Pericoli decided to draw all of Manhattan.

Well, almost. He drew the entire West Side of Manhattan, from Spuyten Duyvil to the Battery. Pericoli made a line drawing in black ink of the way the city looks from the Hudson River, and he did it on a single, thirty-seven-foot- long roll of white paper.

He started the drawing in May of 1998, working nights and weekends. Until he finished, a year later, he kept the paper rolled up on a table in his apartment, on the Upper West Side, exposing only a few feet at a time. He would draw six or seven blocks, then roll the paper forward, covering what he had just done. He worked like the scribes who write Torah scrolls by hand: he never erased, he never changed anything once he had done it, and he never looked back at his work after he finished a section. He did not see the entire drawing until it was completed.

The idea, he says, came to him when he was riding his bicycle to work through Riverside Park. “I saw all of these wonderful buildings on Riverside Drive that have such character, and I wanted to draw them,” he said. “At first, I thought I would only do a drawing of Riverside Drive. Then one day I decided to go on the Circle Line, and it was a revelation to me. It is the most democratic view -- what you see is what you get.” Pericoli realized that he would not be happy unless he drew it all, right down to the Battery.

He took two more trips on the Circle Line, standing on the deck and shooting a photograph of the Manhattan riverfront every six or seven blocks. Then, deciding that he needed a broader perspective, he traded in his bicycle for a motorcycle and started going across the river to shoot from up and down the New Jersey waterfront. In all, he took more than four hundred photographs before he was ready to start drawing. (From New Yorker article by Paul Goldberger. See Tidbits below for full story and others.)

More than two years, fifteen hundred buildings, and nineteen bridges later, the two 37-foot-long scrolls of the East and West Sides of the Manhattan skyline were completed. Manhattan Unfurled was published in 2001.

In this book version, Manhattan Unfurled comes to you in an elegant slipcase that contains a 24-panel, 22-foot-long accordion fold-out that displays the entire East and West Side in Pericoli's drawings, one on each side.

An essay about the Manhattan Unfurled drawings by Paul Goldberger — who the Huffington Post calls "the leading figure in architecture criticism", is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and former architecture critic for The New Yorker — accompanies the book in a separate pamphlet.

Isn't the Manhattan Unfurled backstory incredible?! Just wait until you see it!

In my mind's eye, I can just see Matteo unwinding the roll of paper to sketch memories from his most recent exploration along the Hudson. How exciting it must have been to see the progress each day of creating the skyline of Manhattan in your living room!

Manhattan Unfurledis a one-of-a-kind creation and an entirely unique work of art. It also is a playful, yet eloquent, tribute to the historic and beloved Manhattan skyline.

If you love Manhattan, this gem is one to be cherished for a very long time!

And, if you like to travel and experience places in addition to New York City, whether in your imagination or in person, check out the Related Items below, as well as our Places Collection!

Matteo Pericoli was born in Milan, where he graduated from the Polytechnic School of Architecture. He moved to New York in 1995, where he has worked as an architect, illustrator, author, journalist, and teacher.

From 1997 to 2000 he worked at the architectural firm Richard Meier & Partners as the project architect for the Jubilee Church in Rome.

His drawings have been published in various newspapers and magazines, both in the US and in Europe—including, among others, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Observer, and La Stampa, for which he is a regular contributor. For over two years, his monthly column Finestra sull'Italia has appeared in Bell'Italia magazine. He has written for the Italian newspapers L'Unità and La Stampa.

In 2007 he completed Skyline of the World, a 397-foot-long panoramic mural for American Airlines' new International Terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

He has taught architecture and illustration at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, NY, and is now living with his wife and daughter in Turin, Italy. He held a Visiting Professorship at the Polytechnic of Turin, Faculty of Architecture, where he worked on his latest projects on London and Turin, and where he teaches architecture to creative writing students at the Scuola Holden.

In the Spring of 2013, Matteo held his "Laboratory of Literary Architecture" course at Columbia University, as a Mellon Visiting Artist. Other than in the US, his books have been published in the United Kingdom, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, and China.

IRELAND - Historic Pubs of Dublin with Frank McCourt

Looking for that one place to quench your thirst for history, legendary writers, beautiful sights, warm and wonderful people, and, of course, a good pint?

Then what better place than Dublin, Ireland? And, if you can't make the trip right now, or if you are planning a trip, then what better guide than The Historic Pubs of Dublin?

Especially when notable Irishman and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt, serves as your guide to tell and show you the rich story of Dublin through its most historic pubs, which date back hundred of years.

I have to share that my husband, Bill, was executive producer of this wonderful show, and I can't tell you how incredibly warm, funny and gracious Frank McCourt was! He was the perfect host and guide to Dublin, its history and its pubs — many he had spent a great deal of time in while a student at Trinity College.

Frank passed in 2009, just one year after doing this show. The world lost a very talented and gentle soul, with an impish smile, incredibly wry and quick wit and an unforgettable twinkle in his eyes. He was very proud of being able to share Dublin with others via The Historic Pubs of Dublin, and I know you will enjoy it as much as he did making it for you!

In addition to the visiting and learning the stories of Dublin's legendary pubs, The Historic Pubs of Dublin will be take you to many of Dublin's must-see attractions, such as Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Dublin Writer's Museum, Jameson Distillery, Guinness Brewery, Grafton Street and the city's beautiful parks.

Frank McCourt's informative, yet whimsical style, is perfect for sharing valuable insights into Irish culture and history, as well as telling the history of Dublin and Ireland through the lens of its historic pubs — and its literary masters such as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Brendan Behan, who were frequent visitors.

He will take you to visit Kavanagh's, the gravediggers' bar, (John) Mulligan's, a tabernacle to the serious drinker, and to the musical Blue Lightnestled in the foothills of Dublin. He will invite you to share a bit of 'craic' at Doheny and Nesbitt, listen to Dublin's finest Irish traditional music at O'Donoghue's, then cap off your tour at the 800+ year-old Brazen Headwhich, according to McCourt, "...doesn't look a day over 400."

The Historic Pubs of Dublin truly is an entertaining and enlightening look at legendary Irish pubs — that still are Dublin's most popular, hundreds of years after they first opened their doors — as well as the city's and Ireland's history and related historical settings.

This 60-minute DVD is a great trip for the armchair traveler, and it definitely should be required viewing before your first (or next) trip to the Emerald Isle. Sláinte mhaith!

PARIS — My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories — David Leibovitz

$25.95

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“David Lebovitz is a rare specimen: both a terrific storyteller and a brilliant, uncompromising recipe writer. His lighthearted, almost satirical style is combined with far-reaching knowledge of food and its context. I’d follow him blindfolded on this journey to the City of Light.” — Yotam Ottolenghi, coauthor of Jerusalem, Plenty, Plenty More, NOPI

“David Lebovitz is a chef who can write better than most food writers, a writer who can hold his own in any restaurant kitchen in the world, and, most of all, a guy who simply rejoices in food and cooking. This may be his most personal cookbook, describing all facets of his cooking life in Paris, with great stories, information, and recipes. I need two copies of this book: one for the kitchen and another by my reading chair.”— Michael Ruhlman, author of Ruhlman’s Twenty“Opening this beautiful book is like opening the door to David’s Paris. Of course, you get great recipes, but you also get to wander the world’s most delicious city with a friend who knows it well and is excited to share it with you. A treat for those of us who love French home cooking, Paris, and David’s take on it all.”— Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table

My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories is a tasty collection of stories and 100 sweet and savory French-inspired recipes from popular food blogger David Lebovitz, reflecting the way Parisians eat today and featuring lush photography taken around Paris and in David's Parisian kitchen. David trained as a pastry chef in France and Belgium, and he worked worked at the iconic Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California for twelve years, before moving to Paris.

It’s been ten years since David Lebovitz packed up his most treasured cookbooks, a well-worn cast-iron skillet, and his laptop and moved to Paris. In that time, the culinary culture of France has shifted as a new generation of chefs and home cooks—most notably in Paris—incorporates ingredients and techniques from around the world into traditional French dishes.

In My Paris Kitchen, David remasters the classics, introduces lesser-known fare, and presents 100 sweet and savory recipes that reflect the way modern Parisians eat today.

David also shares stories told with his trademark wit and humor, and lush photography taken on location around Paris and in David’s kitchen reveals the quirks, trials, beauty, and joys of life in the culinary capital of the world.

David Lebovitz is a sought-after cooking instructor with an award-winning food blog (davidlebovitz.com). Trained as a pastry chef in France and Belgium, David worked at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California for twelve years. He now lives in Paris, France, where he leads culinary tours of the city

PARIS — Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops — By Dorie Greenspan

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Do you love Paris?

When you think of the City of Light, are its patisseries, boulangeries and sidewalk cafes with their delicious selections of handcrafted, melt-in-your-mouth pastries and desserts among the first things that come to mind?

Do you adhere to the adage "Life's too short, eat dessert first!"?

Then you will absolutely love Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops, aclassic sweet treat by Dorie Greenspan, one of the world's favorite and most accomplished food writers, Dorie Greenspan. (See her bio below.)

Her most vivid memory of her first trip to Paris doesn't have anything to do with the Eiffel Tower, but rather a heavenly strawberry tartlet. Overwhelmed by its extraordinary flavor, texture, and appearance, Greenspan was "hooked on Paris and hooked on the city's sweets."

In Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops, Greenspan compiles recipes from "les bonnes adresses," collecting secrets for perfect madeleines, macaroons, apple tarts and other classic French desserts.

Paris Sweets is the result of 30 years of searching for the most delectable, delicious, awe-inspiring pastries she could find, and then convincing their creators to part with the recipes.

She embellishes her cookbook with anecdotes and histories, explaining that, for example, creme brulee is actually a Spanish invention (known there as crema catalana) and that Saint-Honori is the patron saint of pastry chefs.

Greenspan also includes descriptions of some of her favorite Parisian bakeries, introducing American readers to the pleasures of Ladurée and La Maison du Chocolat.

Scattered throughout this delightful book are whimsical illustrations and beautifully written stories about each of Greenspan's favorite pastry shops and the chefs who created them.

Some of their recipes, such as Boulangerie Poilane's sweet, buttery, bite-size cookies called Punishments, are quick and easy enough for even a novice baker.

From the most perfect Crème Brulee and Coffee Eclairs to the stunning Fresh Strawberry and Marshmallow Tart, made with homemade strawberry marshmallows.

From classic recipes, some centuries old, to updated innovations, Paris Sweetsprovides a sumptuous guide to creating cookies, from the fabled madeleine to simple, ultra-buttery sables; tarts, from the famous Tatin, which began its life as an upside-down error, to a delightful strawberry tart embellished with homemade strawberry marshmallows; and a glorious range of cakes — lemon-drenched "weekend cake," fudge cake, and the show-stopping Opera.

Paris Sweetsbrims with assorted temptations that even a novice can prepare, such as coffee éclairs, rum-soaked babas, and meringue puffs. Evocative portraits of the pastry shops and chefs, as well as information on authentic French ingredients, make this a truly comprehensive tour.

Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops celebrates the sweet life with recipes and lore from Paris’s finest patisseries. It makes an elegant gift for Francophiles, armchair travelers, bakers of all skill levels, and certainly for oneself.

Greenspan will have you torn between making Paris Sweetsat home and going there yourself.

Inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America, DORIE GREENSPAN was tapped by the legendary chef Julia Child to write the New York Times bestseller Baking with Julia.

Her most recent book is Baking Chez Moi: Recipes From My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere. She is the author of Baking: From My Home to Yours, a James Beard Award winner, and Around My French Table, a New York Times bestseller that was named Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. She also co-authored Desserts by Pierre Hermé, another IACP award winner.

Her blog, www.doriegreenspan.com, was singled out as one of the top fifty food blogs in the world by The Times of London.

"As soon as you start to think of the past happening (as opposed to it having happened), a new way of conceiving history becomes possible ... You start to gain an inkling as to why people did this or that, and even why they believed things we find simply incredible." -- Ian Mortimer

The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century does just that, taking a look at life in England several centuries ago, told as if the reader were preparing for an actual journey back in time, studying on what to do and how to survive in a vastly different world. It shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived.

Author and Medieval history expert Ian Mortimer (see About the Author below) turns our 21st century world and its entire understanding of history upside down by transporting readers to a jolly, squalid old England for a thorough survey of everyday 14th century life. His visitor's guide approach to popular history gives readers a seamless sense of being there and a clear view on Medieval life.

Whether you're a travel fan or history buff, take a step back in time to the smells, the sites, the attitudes of the time with The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. Almost makes you want to go back to school and take a Medieval England history class....almost.

Once your done with Medieval times, head on over to Elizabethan England for your next time travel.

And if you love this book, be sure to check out Related Items below, as well as our entire Places collection!

Ian Mortimer has BA, PhD and DLitt degrees in history from Exeter University and an MA in archive studies from University College London. From 1991 to 2003 he worked for Devon Record Office, Reading University, the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, and Exeter University. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1998, and was awarded the Alexander Prize (2004) by the Royal Historical Society.

ENGLAND - London Under - Peter Ackroyd

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Irresistible!

— Financial Times

His research is meticulous, his scope expansive and his writing definitive.

— Time Out

When someone says 'the underground', most people who visit London immediately think of the London Tube. Not so for Peter Ackroyd. While he has spent a lifetime writing about above ground London, in London Under, the award-winning novelist, as well as broadcaster, biographer, poet and historian turns his efforts towards everything that goes on 'under London', sharing his vision of a mythical city that most do not see.

London Under is a comprehensive introduction to everything that goes on in London down under, from original springs and streams and Roman amphitheatres to Victorian sewers, gang hideouts and, of course, modern Underground stations. This book tunnels down through the geological layers, meeting the creatures, both real and fictional, that dwell in the darkness - rats and eels, monsters and ghosts.

From the Anglo-Saxon graves under St Paul's, to the hydraulic device in Kensal Green cemetery which lowered bodies into the catacombs below, to the fossils uncovered when the Victoria Line was built and the gold bars within the Bank of England's vaults, London Under takes you into a hidden world, beneath our feet.

As with all other Peter Ackroyd efforts, his meticulous research provides an absorbing history of those parts of the capital that lie beneath our feet connecting the past, present and future.

And if you love this book, be sure to check out Related Items below, as well as our entire Places collection!

Peter Ackroyd is the prolific author of biographies of Dickens, Blake and Thomas More and of the acclaimed non-fiction bestsellers London: The Biography; Thames: Sacred River, and Shakespeare; The Biography, among others.

He is at work on the third and fourth books of a six-volume “History of England,” which aims to tell the whole story of the sceptered isle, from prehistory to the present. (The first volume, Foundation: The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors, was published in the United States in 2012. Volume 2, Tudors: The History of England From Henry VIII to Elizabeth, is out in Britain and is to be published in the U.S.

He has won the Whitbread Biography Award, the Royal Society of Literature's William Heinemann Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award and the South Bank Prize for Literature. He holds a CBE for services to literature.

ENGLAND - Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day - Amy de la Haye

$16.95

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Clara Button loves hats. When her older brother Ollie ruins her favorite from Grandma, Mum takes them on a special hat day out. Her brother Ollie prompts the journey of discovery to the museum after his comment that buttons are boring coupled with his rambunctious behavior.

Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day takes you from Clara’s living room into a delightful adventure trip through London visiting Hat departments on the way to London's Victoria & Albert Museum. While visiting the museum, Clara gets lost and embarks on an exciting journey of discovery. Meanwhile, Ollie is having adventures of his own, with swords and tigers! Written by Amy de la Haye and beautifully illustrated by the award-winning Emily Sutton, Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day is a gem of a children's book.

And if you love this book, be sure to check out Related Items below, as well as our entire Places collection!

Amy de la Haye is the Rootstein Hopkins Professor of Dress History and Curatorship at the London College of Fashion and was formerly Curator of 20th Century Fashion at the V&A. Emily Sutton studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art and Rhode Island School of Design.

ENGLAND: Tea at Fortnum & Mason

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Fortnum & Mason is the quintessential London store. It epitomizes style, elegance, English charm and, above all, one of Britain's most traditional pastimes: taking tea. The world of tea and the name Fortnum & Mason have been intertwined for over three centuries.

From the opening of the Far East to western trade, to the first harvest of tea grown on English soil, Fortnum's has sourced, refined and offered this most delicious of the Earth's bounties to its customers. Fortnum & Mason has been selling high-quality tea for almost 300 years and continues to be one of London's most desirable places to indulge in this afternoon tradition.

Tea at Fortnum & Mason contains a blast of old-fashioned Fortnum & Mason luxury. Proper cakes on cakestands, or piled on decorated china plates, finger sandwiches and cut-glass jars of lemon curd, tea in teacups and proper scones with the jam and cream the right way round.

This beautiful book covers everything on the art of 'taking tea'. With a charming collection of fascinating anecdotes and stories, this is the definitive history of tea drinking along with 45 irresistible recipes for all kinds of teatime treats.

From delicate sandwiches, jam biscuits and lemon curd meringues to rich fruit cakes, indulgent brownies and dainty cupcakes, Tea at Fortnum & Mason brings you a taste of tea at Fortnum's as it has for the past 300 years.

Fortnum & Mason was founded at its current site on Piccadilly almost 300 years ago and its stunning façade and striking window displays continue to draw admirers from all over the world. The store has been selling tea since the day it opened and the range now spans more than 70 different types.

As soon as you start to think of the past happening (as opposed to it having happened), a new way of conceiving history becomes possible ... You start to gain an inkling as to why people did this or that, and even why they believed things we find simply incredible.

— Ian Mortimer

The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England does just that, taking a look at life in England several centuries ago, told as if the reader were preparing for an actual journey back in time, studying on what to do and how to survive in a vastly different world. It shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. History courses taught us that Queen Elizabeth I's reign was a 'golden age' but what was it actually like to walk the streets of London in the mid-1500's?

Author and Medieval history expert Ian Mortimer (see About the Author below) turns our 21st century world and its entire understanding of history upside down by transporting readers to a jolly old England for a thorough survey of everyday life in the 1500's. His visitor's guide approach to popular history gives readers a seamless sense of being there and a clear view on Elizabethan life.

Whether you're a travel fan or history buff, take a step back in time to the smells, the sites, the attitudes of the time with The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England. Almost makes you want to go back to school and take a Elizabethan England history class....I said, almost.

Ian Mortimer has BA, PhD and DLitt degrees in history from Exeter University and an MA in archive studies from University College London. From 1991 to 2003 he worked for Devon Record Office, Reading University, the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, and Exeter University. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1998, and was awarded the Alexander Prize (2004) by the Royal Historical Society.

Let there be no doubt. This book was written for those who read and re-read Jane Austen“. You know who you are. The 'All Six Every Year, as in Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, crowd.

What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved is organized into twenty chapters, each based around questions inspired by the texts and the social history points in her books. According to author John Mullan (see About the Author below), to ignore this will only give the reader a diminished experience of Austen’s technique.

Each chapter in What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved attempts to de-code Jane Austen’s subtle style by concentrating on questions that most readers have, most likely, considered while reading The Six.

Our favorite chapter? Toss up between chapter 6 - Why Is It Risky to Go To The Seaside? and chapter 9 - Which Important Characters Never Speak in the Novels? Whichever chapter you read and re-read, it will certainly make your next 'All Six Every Year' journey all the better.

And if you love this book, be sure to check out Related Items below, as well as our entire Places collection!

John Mullan is a Professor of English at University College London specializing in 18th century fiction. He also writes a weekly column on contemporary fiction for The Guardian and occasionally appears as an 18th-century and contemporary literature expert for BBC Two's Newsnight Review and BBC Radio 4's In Our Time.

ENGLAND - Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey: The Official Backstage Pass to the Set, the Actors and the Drama - Emma Rowley and Gareth Neame

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Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey: The Official Backstage Pass to the Set, the Actors and the Drama, the official season 4 tie-in book and complete with never-before-seen photos, is written by Emma Rowley with a forward by series Executive Producer, Gareth Neame (see About the Authors below).

As America awaits the season 4 premiere on January 5, 2014 on PBS' Masterpiece series, this book will delve into the inspiration behind the details seen on screen, the choice of locations (including Highclere Castle), the music and much more. Catch a glimpse of the secret backstage world, visit the hair and make-up truck and step inside the props cupboard. Yes, that is a blender that invades Mrs. Patmore's kitchen in season 4 but, it was actually a really old vintage one from the twenties ordered from ebay!

In-depth interviews and exclusive season 4 photos give insight into the actors’ experiences on set as well as the celebrated creative team behind the multi award-winning drama. Straight from the director’s chair, this is the inside track on all aspects of the making of the show. A definite must have addition to your Downton Abbey library collection.

ENGLAND - The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era - Jessica Fellows and Matthew Sturgis

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Not since Upstairs Downstairs has a PBS television drama series caused so much water cooler conversation. In a word, "Americans can't get enough of 'Downton Abbey,'" said The Boston Globe.

The same can be said worldwide as fans eagerly await the next Dowager Countess classic comment. Leading up to season 3, the Great War has ended, but Downton is far from peaceful. Both the upstairs and downstairs inhabitants are waking up to a world forever changed by World War I.

Written by Jessica Fellowes and Matthew Sturgis (see About the Authors below), The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era, the official companion book to the first two seasons of Downton Abbey and perfect addition to your Downton Abbey library, includes a forward written by series creator/writer, Julian Fellowes (see About the Authors below) and focuses on each character individually, examining their motivations, their actions, and the inspirations behind them.

A combination of story, history, and behind-the-scenes drama (one can only imagine a room complete with both Shirley MacLaine, who plays the mother of American-born, Cora Crawley, and the Dowager Countess herself, Dame Maggie Smith), The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era gets right to the heart of the Crawley estate.

Containing numerous photos and incredibly detailed descriptions which explain how much work is involved in keeping the show authentic, this 320-page coffee table-sized book is an absolute must for any Downton Abbey ﻿fan. If you love Downton Abbey you will love this book!

JESSICA FELLOWES, daughter of series creator, Julian Fellowes, is the New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author of The World of Downton Abbey. Formerly the Deputy Editor of Country Life, she has also been a columnist for the London Paper. Jessica also writes for the Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Weekend, The Lady and Sunday Times Style, and lives with her family in London.

MATTHEW STURGIS is a writer and critic who has written for Harpers & Queen, The Sunday Telegraph, and The Independent on Sunday. He is the author of Passionate Attitudes: the English Decadence of the 1890s and the highly-praised Aubrey Beardsley. He lives in London.

JULIAN FELLOWES is the creator, writer, and executor producer of Downton Abbey, which won six Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe for best mini-series. Previously, he won the Academy Award for best original screenplay for Gosford Park, and wrote the bestselling novels Snobs and Past Imperfect. A member of the House of Lords, he lives with his wife and son in London and Dorset, England.

Craig Varjabedian’s photographs of the American West would be the perfect illustrations to a Cormac McCarthy book. They have a surreal beauty and poetic emptiness that border on the fictional. It’s as if this isn’t the real West, but the West of tall tales and American dreams.

— Claire O’Neille, NPR: The Picture Show

[Craig Varjabedian] relies almost exclusively on a large-format Ebony field view camera, wet darkroom chemicals, and an array of handcrafted Carl Zeiss Protar lenses . . . that have bubbles visibly trapped inside the glass. Besides capturing an extreme degree of detail on his 5"x7" negatives, Varjabedian's equipment--particularly his seemingly imperfect lenses--enable him to translate onto silver-gelatin photographic paper the particular quality of the light in New Mexico.

— Photo District News

2013 Best Art Book Award given to Landscape Dreams, A New Mexico Portrait

— New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards

Landscape Dreams, A New Mexico Portrait presents a selection of Craig Varjabedian’s photographs, made over the nearly three decades that he has lived and worked in New Mexico, range over all the image-making forms—landscape, portrait, and still life—to offer a remarkably complete, varied, and original portrait of what many call the “Land of Enchantment.”

White sand desert, cloud-capped peaks, ancient adobe ruins, groves of autumn cottonwoods—all find their place here. Intimate, personal, and yet iconic, the photographs capture a land and its people in a collection that will be warmly welcomed by those who already love New Mexico but serve also as an inviting introduction for newcomers to its diverse and captivating uniqueness.

Fittingly, the photographs, all beautifully presented in elegant duotone reproductions, celebrate the hundred years of New Mexico’s statehood begun in 1912.

Here, paired with images of Native American sites that go back to earlier millennia, such as the ruins at Bandelier National Monument, are artifacts of the modern world, like the familiar outline of a pumpjack in an oil patch and a lowrider Cadillac outside the wall that protects the Santuario de Chimayo.

Complementing the eloquent photographs are three essays by New Mexico writers whose intimacy with and affection for the land are no less deep than the photographer’s.

Jeanetta Calhoun Mish offers a poet’s special insights into the particular character of Varjabedian’s photographs.

Marin Sardy writes knowledgably of the history and culture of the state.

Hampton Sides, a New York Times best-selling author, offers an appreciation of Craig Varjabedian’s true gifts and urges the reader/viewer to “Take time to savor this careful distillation of the real New Mexico.”

Craig Varjabedian's photographs of the American West illuminate his profound connection with the region and its people. His finely detailed images die with an authenticity that reveals the inseparable ties between identity, place and act of perceiving.

For Varjabedian, the art of photography is a receptive process driven by the openness to the revelation each subject offers, rather than the desire to manipulate form or catalog detail. He achieves this intensely personal vision by capturing and suspending on film those decisive moments in which the elements and the ineffable sprit of a moment come together in exceptional and often startling ways.

"The remarkable photographs by Craig Varjabedian are not only beautiful, but also extremely valuable documents of architecture, culture and lifestyle. From intimate portraits to expansive landscapes, Varjabedian's images, made primarily in black and white, celebrate the drama ad potency inherent in each subject's relationship to the photographer, said Beaumont Newhall, preeminent 20th-century photographic historian and author of History of Photography: 1939 to the Present.

"The one thing that never changes is that moment of recognition when I feel the play of light, shadow, and texture resolve itself into something amazing," Vajabedian explains. Through this process, he offers viewers a new way of seeing — one that transcends mundane perception and expands our awareness of the potential of every moment.

In 1991, he co-produced an Emmy Award-winning film about his work entitled En Divina Luz: The Penitente Morados of New Mexico. Photographs from this book were published in a book by the same name, with an essay by Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Michael Wallis.Other books by Craig Varjabedian include Ghost Ranch: The Faraway Nearby.

Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby handsomely reproduces [Varjabedian's] black and white photographs that portray the parched New Mexican soil under tumultuous skies that spoke to and so captured Georgia O'Keeffe's creative imagination.

— Journal of the Print World

The remarkable photographs by Craig Varjabedian are not only beautiful, but also extremely valuable documents of architecture, culture and lifestyle. From intimate portraits to expansive landscapes, Varjabedian's images, made primarily in black and white, celebrate the drama ad potency inherent in each subject's relationship to the photographer.

Ghost Ranch is perhaps best known as the longtime home of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, who captured some of the its most stunning scenery in her paintings. For more than twenty years, award-winning, fine art photographer Craig Varjabedian has explored and captured the red cliffs and sweeping plains of this fabled 21,000-acre area in northern New Mexico. In Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby, he shares over 90 new duotone photographs capturing its evanescent light.

These images reach beyond familiar ideas associated with the Ranch — such as its renown as a site of personal renewal and transformation — into Varjabedian's singular vision of his subject and its ties to ideas of identity, place, and perception.

The name of photographic treasure comes from one of O’Keeffe’s famous paintings, From the Faraway, Nearby. In O’Keeffe wrote in 1976 that the Far Away was “a beautiful, untouched lonely-feeling place.”

Elaborating on his choice of book titles, Varjabedian said: "What she found in the West, and at Ghost Ranch, was a place where the open possibility of the landscape became one with what she felt inside herself, where depth and focus at once conflated the spatial orientation of the objects she painted, and pulled her nearer to her creative source.”

To further illuminate the experience of Ghost Ranch, Varjabedian gathered an "appreciation" of Ghost Ranch, written by Georgia O'Keeffe, and essays written to accompany his photographs. These include an evocative introduction by photographer Jay Packer, an essay by writer Marin Sardy examining the place's natural features and social history, and topical essays by theological studies professor Belden C. Lane, arts writer Douglas A. Fairfield, and former Ghost Ranch executive director Rob Craig. Also included are forewords by Cathy L. Wright, director of the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, and Debra Hepler, executive director of Ghost Ranch. (See About the Author below)

The Back Story

While walking home on a snowy Michigan day in 1970 after taking pictures for his high school newspaper, fourteen-year-old Craig Varjabedian passed by an art gallery. Inside he saw a man with a thick white beard hanging pictures on the wall of a gallery. The teenager was awestruck by images of sky and stone, mountains and rivers, trees and thunderclouds. Seeing the young onlooker, the old man invited him in. Soon they were talking about cameras and photography.

The white-haired man was Ansel Adams; and this chance meeting sealed Varjabedian’s future.

After studying art and photography at the University of Michigan and Rochester Institute of Technology, Varjabedian went to New Mexico to finish his thesis. There, a friend took him to see Ghost Ranch, an inspirational mecca for artists, poets, painters, and photographers, including Ansel Adams, who was a frequent visitor, and Georgia O’Keeffe, who lived and painted there for more than fifty years.

“It is an almost mythic land located in northern New Mexico, and when I first saw it over twenty years ago, it took my breath away,” says Varjabedian, who has been photographing the majestic landscape ever since. “I remember driving up the road and cresting the top of a hill where the whole Ghost Ranch valley opens up and felt like I had come home. Since that time, it has been a quest to make images that were consonant with the feelings the place evoked in me.”

I know exactly how he feels! I had the good fortune to be introduced to the mesmerizing beauty of northern New Mexico as a child, and if I don't get to visit several times a year to soak in its gentle grandeur and recharge my soul, well, let's just say I get a bit cranky. And, because Georgia O'Keeffe lived in and began to develop her unique style near my hometown in the Texas Panhandle, I was introduced to her work through the local museum at a young age.

Growing up in that ocean of land and sky, O'Keeffe's art was not abstract to me in any way - she was just trying to get people to see the beauty - often small, simple and taken for granted - that surrounds us daily.

Ghost Ranch is located 14 miles north of the village of Abiquiu, which is about 50 miles northwest of Santa Fe. The vast landscape is absolutely stunning at any time of day, in any season. And that is why I am so proud to offer Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby in my shop! Craig Varjabedian's rich, engrossing black-and-white photographs help you do what Georgia O'Keeffe wanted people to do - see, really see...

Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.

— Georgia O'Keeffe

So, take the time to slow down, breath deeply and see, really see the beauty of Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby.

Craig Varjabedian's photographs of the American West illuminate his profound connection with the region and its people. His finely detailed images die with an authenticity that reveals the inseparable ties between identity, place and act of perceiving.

For Varjabedian, the art of photography is a receptive process driven by the openness to the revelation each subject offers, rather than the desire to manipulate form or catalog detail. He achieves this intensely personal vision by capturing and suspending on film those decisive moments in which the elements and the ineffable sprit of a moment come together in exceptional and often startling ways.

"The remarkable photographs by Craig Varjabedian are not only beautiful, but also extremely valuable documents of architecture, culture and lifestyle. From intimate portraits to expansive landscapes, Varjabedian's images, made primarily in black and white, celebrate the drama ad potency inherent in each subject's relationship to the photographer, said Beaumont Newhall, preeminent 20th-century photographic historian and author of History of Photography: 1939 to the Present.

"The one thing that never changes is that moment of recognition when I feel the play of light, shadow, and texture resolve itself into something amazing," Vajabedian explains. Through this process, he offers viewers a new way of seeing — one that transcends mundane perception and expands our awareness of the potential of every moment.

In 1991, he co-produced an Emmy Award-winning film about his work entitled En Divina Luz: The Penitente Morados of New Mexico. Photographs from this book were published in a book by the same name, with an essay by Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Michael Wallis.Other books by Craig Varjabedian include Landscape Dreams: A New Mexico Portrait.

Texas is big — some 268,596 square miles worth of BIG! And, it is comprised of 11 natural regions that give the state tremendous biological and ecological diversity, which is a very good thing!

Ever wanted to find and explore those regions and learn about and experience their unique characteristics and flora and fauna?

Or, are you looking for a comprehensive guide with color illustrations and maps that will help you, your family and friends find a wide range of environmental and outdoor programs for people of all ages, including summer day camps, children's story time, nature arts and crafts, guided hikes and activities, family programs, handicap-accessible trails, courses for teachers and much more?

Ask, and you shall receive! We are very proud to bring you the Texas Nature and Environmental Centers Guide by Daniel W. Moulton, Ph.D.!

This 276-page guidebook not only will introduce you to Texas' 11 natural regions, it will tell you about 96 facilities across the state that offer a wide range of environmental and outdoor programs for every age.

ALSO PLEASE NOTE: Straight from Dan: The copies we have for you here at Pretty Things & Cool Stuff are MUCH better quality than you can get at that online place that is named after a river or warrior woman. Our copies are printed on higher quality paper AND the 224 photos are ALL in color — they are in black and white only at that other place.

There are nine color maps and 224 color photos, as well as Outdoor Adventure Tips (Dos and Don'ts) and an Environmental Primer in Texas Nature and Environmental Centers Guide. And, in addition to providing details about the landscape and flora and fauna of Texas' 11 natural regions, Moulton explains the impact of weather and man-made changes on each.

Quite simply, Texas Nature and Environmental Centers Guide is THE nature center travel guide for Texas, as well as a rich environmental education reference all in one easy-to-carry-along paperback.

So, what are you waiting for? Get one —or several for gifts — and get up-close-and-personal now with Mother Nature in Texas!

is a wildlife ecologist and a Certified Wildlife Biologist by the Wildlife Society. He worked for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for more than 20 years, focused on wetland ecosystems all across Texas, but especially coastal wetlands. After he retired, Dan taught as an adjunct professor of environmental science and biology at universities in the Dallas area.

He has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maryland Wildlife Administration. And, Dan holds a bachelor of arts in biology, a master's in wildlife ecology, and he is a Ph.D. in wildlife science. He also was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Minnesota.